Currently, attention to the study of small towns is increasing in the scientific community of our country. In publications on small towns, the presence of a list of many current problems can be considered as a typical case, while the rating of these problems is usually not established. The scientific problem is to establish a hierarchy of current problems of small towns, to find their most painful points. The empirical base of the study is formed by statistical data of reports on citizens’ appeals published on the official websites of the administrations of small towns of the Sverdlovsk region. According to the adopted laws, regional and municipal authorities are obliged to analyse citizens’ appeals and send monthly reports to the Presidential Administration. Citizens’ appeals can be assessed as a reliable source of current problems that worry citizens of small towns. The frequency of mentioning problems in reports allowed to establish their rating. To identify the specifics of the problems, a comparison was made of the rating of small towns with the rating of the problems of the largest city in the region, Yekaterinburg, as well as of the large cities of the Ural Federal District. It has been established that the top three problems of small towns include problems of public utilities, housing and public utilities and economic activity. While in the largest and largest and a large city there is a greater bias towards urban development, improvement, and the social sphere. Problems that worry residents of small regional towns can be classified as primary, providing the basis for life. Analysis of the dynamics of changes in problems over six years has shown that the rating of problems is stable, they are mainly exacerbated. Small towns form the basis of the country’s structure, they are important as reference points for the spatial development of the territory. At present, state policy is not focused on the development of small towns, while most of them are in a problematic or depressive state. Knowledge of the rating of current problems is important for assessing the real state of small towns and for finding strategic ways of their functioning and development in the near future.

city, small town, rating, small town problems

1.  Vereshhagina T. A., Degtyarev P. Ya., Tyunin A. I. The crisis of the traditional model of small town development. Vestnik ChelGU. Ekonomicheskie nauki, 2018: 3(413): 60: 53–60 (in Russ.). EDN: YWMLRT.
2. Urban Development in Russia and China: Patterns of Modernization. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, Li Peilin, P. M. Kozyreva, M. F. Chernysh; FCTAS RAS. Moscow, Novyy Khronograf, 2023:720 (in Russ.). EDN: UWCMGA.
3. Zhuchkov D. V., Krokhaleva S. I. Assessment of the urban environment quality index in small and medium-sized cities of the southern Far East. Vestnik PriamGU im. Sholom-Alejxema, 2023: 2(51): 25–37 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24412/2227-1384-2023-251-25-37; EDN: KGTQUX
4. Zaborova E. N. Electronic forms of interaction between the government and the population. Vestnik PermNIPU. Socialno-ekonomicheskie nauki, 2024: 2: 122–135 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2024-10-2-0-9; EDN: CVFIVU.
5. Zvyagincev V. I., Neuvazhaeva M. A. Migrants from urban to rural areas: the phenomenon of “Reverse migration” in modern Russia. Mir Rossii. Sociologiya. Etnologiya, 2015: 1: 101–135 (in Russ.). EDN: TLOKAF.
6. Ivanenko L. V. Problems of development of small cities. Innovative approaches to management. Vestnik UGNTU. Nauka, obrazovanie, ekonomika. Ser.: Ekonomika, 2021: 2(36): 55–432162 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.17122/2541-8904-2021-2-36-55-62; EDN: QGFFRF.
7. Korosteleva L. Yu. Social problems of small cities in the mirror of the urban environment quality index. Nauchnoe obozrenie. Ser. 2. Gumanitarnye nauki, 2022: 3-4: 5–19 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.26653/2076-4685-2022-3-4-01; EDN: UGANUJ.
8. Kuzneczov S. V., Chernysheva E. A. Problemy ustojchivogo razvitiya malyh gorodov Rossijskoj Federacii [Problems of sustainable development of small towns in the Russian Federation]. Ekonomika i upravlenie, 2012: 4(78): 123–126 (in Russ.). EDN: OXTVGL.
9. Small cities in the social space of the Russian Federation: monograph. Ed. by V. V. Markin, M. F. Chernysh; M. K. Gorshkov. Moscow, FNISC RAN, 2019: 545. Accessed 12.02.24. URL: https://www.isras.ru/index.php?page_id=1198&id=7751 (in Russ.).
10. Small cities in Russia: new challenges, social problems and prospects. Ed. by M. F. Chernysh, V. V. Markin. Moscow, FNSC RAN, 2022: 598 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-378-2.2021; EDN: AOXBJP.
11. Ovchinnikov O. G. Development of small towns in Russia: problems and solutions. Razvitie territorij, 2023: 4: 85–97 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32324/2412-8945-2023-4-85-97; EDN: TYQNJU.
12. Spatial development of small cities: social strategies and practices. Moscow, FNISC RAS, 2020: 524 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-335-5.2020; EDN: ZUFAQL.
13. Rogovaya A. V. Problems of development of small cities in Russia: the practice of implementing regional strategies. Monitoring pravoprimeneniya, 2019: 4(33): 65–64 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.21681/2226-0692-2019-4-51-59; EDN: ZPOMNW.
14. Socio-cultural potential of small cities in Russia: coll. of art. Ed. by M. F. Chernysh, V. V. Markin. Moscow, FNISC RAS, 2022: 212 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.19181/sbornik.978-5-89697-401-7.2022; EDN: GFSQKI.
15. Battisti A. et al. Resilience of inner areas. Regeneration and enhancement strategies in small towns. Technische Universität München Verlag, 2020: 301. DOI: 10.14459/2020md1554213.
16. Grossmann K., Mallach A. The small city in the urban system: complex pathways of growth and decline. Geografiska Annaler: Ser. B, Human Geography, 2021: 103: 169–175. DOI: 10.1080/04353684.2021.1953280.
17. Manona C. Small Town Urbanization in South Africa: A Case Study. African Studies Review, 1988: 31(3): 95–110. DOI: 10.2307/524075.
18. Rogatka K., Kowalski M., Starczewski T. Less important space? Spatial planning in small towns in Poland. Land Use Policy, 2023: 130: 106674. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106674.
19. Steinführer A., Vaishar A., Zapletalová J. The small town in rural areas as an underresearched type of settlement. Editors’ introduction to the special issue. European countryside, 2016: 8: 4: 322–332. DOI: 10.1515/euco-2016-0023.
20. Steinführer A. Living in a small town: An urban and a rural experience at once. Ruralism: The future of villages and small towns in an urbanizing world. Berlin, Jovis., 2016: 40–55. DOI: 10.1515/euco-2016-0023.
21. Stoica I. V. et al. Exploring the urban strength of small towns in Romania. Social Indicators Research, 2020: 152: 3: 843–875. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-020-02465-x.
22. Vîlcea C., Popescu L., Clincea A. Does Shrinking Population in Small Towns Equal Economic and Social Decline? A Romanian Perspective. Urban Science, 2024: 8: 2: 60. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-020-02465-x.
23. Wagner M., Growe A. Research on small and medium-sized towns: Framing a new field of inquiry. World, 2021: 2: 1: 105–126. DOI: 10.3390/world2010008.
24. Wirth L. Urbanism as a Way of Life. American journal of sociology, 1938: 44: 1: 1–24.
25. Yin X. et al. Are small towns really inefficient? A data envelopment analysis of sampled towns in Jiangsu province, China. Land Use Policy, 2021: 109: 105590. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105590.
26. Yu Z. et al. The role of small towns in rural villagers’ use of public services in China: Evidence from a national-level survey. Journal of Rural Studies, 2023: 100: 103011. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103011.